Cherryleaf Ltd.’s podcast on becoming a better technical and business communicator. www.cherryleaf.com
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A podcast created at the Evolution of TC conference 2019. The content was produced during a workshop on podcasts in technical communication. 4-5 June 2019
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150. AI in technical writing: where's the ROI and is it all hype?
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Remember the excitement when ChatGPT burst onto the scene? Suddenly, it seemed like AI was going to revolutionise everything, including our field of technical communication. But now, 18 months and six Cherryleaf AI podcast episodes later, we're asking the big question: Was it all just hype? You've probably heard some folks saying AI isn't deliverin…
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We've created some YouTube Shorts on promoting the value of techcomm. We talk about the process of creating the videos and the content in the videos. See also: Cherryleaf's YouTube Shorts Uncovering and communicating the value of your tech comm teams' work, with Keren Brown We'll also publish a transcript of this podcast on the Cherryleaf blog. Abo…
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148. Using AI in techcomm - 2024 survey results
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In April 2023, we conducted a survey into the use of AI and ChatGPT in technical communications. We thought it would be interesting to carry out a similar survey again. In this podcast, we talk about the results from the survey and describe what has changed over the last 12 months. We'll post a transcript on the Cherryleaf blog. About Cherryleaf: C…
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This month's podcast looks at the language of persuasion and how technical authors can use it. What do we mean by persuasive language? What is nudging and are we as technical authors able to use this type of language? As part of the research for this podcast I watched some public information films and read articles which are mentioned in the podcas…
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146. What is the current demand for contract Technical Authors?
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In this episode, we look at the current demand for contract Technical Authors in the UK, using statistics from ITJobsWatch.net. We look at the the number of vacancies and whether this has affected the rates offered. We'll also publish a transcript of this podcast on the Cherryleaf blog. About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf…
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145. How large organisations create useful, informative, accessible content
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This month's podcast looks at how large organisations create useful, informative content which is accessible to a wide, often global, audience. As part of the research for this podcast I looked at various websites which are mentioned in the podcast. Many thanks to those organisations and their expertise. Here are the links to the ones mentioned in …
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144. Corporate rebranding - how it affects technical authors
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This month's podcast looks at what is involved in a corporate re-brand and what is involved for technical authors if their organisation decides to rebrand. What is a corporate brand? And what is involved when an organisation decides to rebrand? As part of the research for this podcast we looked at various websites which are mentioned in the podcast…
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143. e-ink writing tablets. Has their time come?
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Welcome to the first episode of 2024! In this exciting instalment, we dive deep into the evolving world of e-ink writing devices. Will these gadgets gain momentum in the tech world? We explore their rising popularity and forecast their potential to become mainstream tools. We'll dissect the key issues these devices address, unveiling the unique sol…
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142. Trends in technical communication for 2024 and beyond
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It’s that time of year for us to gaze into our crystal ball and share your and our predictions for the future of technical communication for 2024 and beyond. We've posted a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf Microsoft's Akash Dubey has created a YouTube playlist that contains a series of interviews with people from Micr…
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141. What Techcomm problems can generative AI solve?
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In this episode, we look at what Techcomm problems can generative AI solve. Technical writers today face numerous challenges that can hinder productivity and impact content quality. From managing high volumes of documentation to keeping pace with rapid product changes, it takes great effort to produce and maintain helpful, accurate, and engaging te…
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140. Kristof Van Tomme on the role of API and developer portals in Generative AI systems
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We talk to Kristof Van Tomme, CEO of Pronovix, about the role of API and developer portals in Generative AI systems. We discuss how organisations can prepare for AI. We talk about what documentation infrastructure organisations should have in place to be able to use AI safely from an information perspective. We also discuss whether developer portal…
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139. Techsmith’s Daniel Foster on the contentious relationship between technical writers and video content
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We talk to Daniel Foster, Director of Strategy at TechSmith, about the contentious relationship between technical writers and video content. A growing trend among technical writers is the integration of video content alongside traditional documentation and visuals, offering a dynamic and immersive medium to enhance user understanding and engagement…
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138: Generative AI and Techcomm, lessons learnt so far
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We reflect on the lesson learnt so far as a result of developing our upcoming elearning course on using Generative AI in technical communication. We will publish a transcript on the Cherryleaf blog. About Cherryleaf: CherryleafBy Cherryleaf
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137. Using AI in techcomm: the questions you’re asking
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As part of our research into using generative AI in technical communications, we ran a survey to discover the questions that technical communicators are asking. In this episode, we review those questions and identify some common themes. About Cherryleaf: CherryleafBy Cherryleaf
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136. Generative AI, what do the buzzwords mean?
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When people talk about AI, chatbots, and tools like ChatGPT, all the new terminology can make it hard to understand how it all works. In this episode, we're going to look at the definitions of some of the words that you might hear. Register for our webinar Using AI in techcomm: What you asked, and the answers Thursday 29th June 2023 As a way of bri…
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135. Writing procedures needed for regulatory compliance
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In this episode, we talk about writing procedures that are needed for regulatory compliance. By this we mean organisations that might be investigated by a regulatory body. We describe the different approaches to creating the content. We'll post a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf…
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134. We’re copying Google’s elearning courses, and how you can do it as well
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We wanted to talk about some ideas that we've taken from Google on how to present elearning video content. And to share them in case you are also involved in e-learning, and you wanted to copy these ideas as well. We examine one of Google's videos from its UX Design course. These courses are on YouTube, so it’s possible to view them without having …
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133. What will ChatGPT mean for technical communication?
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It's been about three months since ChatGPT was launched. And we thought it would be good to look at really the status of what ChatGPT might mean for the future of technical communication. And we did a blog and we did some experiments back in December, as have others, and people have reflected on the pros and cons of it. And we thought it would be g…
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In January 2023, there's been quite a few layoffs in the tech sector. It's reported that Google has laid off 12,000 people, Microsoft 11,000, Amazon 18,000, Salesforce 8000. And there's also been layoffs at Meta, Cisco, Spotify, and other organisations. In this episode, we're going to look at dealing with being laid off or being made redundant. We'…
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131. Diana Logan on GitLab and Hackathons
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We talk to Diana Logan, Manager, Technical Writing at GitLab, about Gitlab’s approach to documentation and code. We discuss: Working in an “Docs as Code” environment The upcoming GitLab Docs hackathon Working for a fully remote, asynchronous organisation We've posted a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. More information: GitLab Docs Hackathon 23 - …
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130. Trends in technical communication for 2023 and beyond
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It’s that time of year for us to gaze into our crystal ball and share your and our predictions for the future of technical communication for 2023 and beyond. Thread on LinkedIn Thread on Twitter We've posted a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: CherryleafBy Cherryleaf
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129. Your first 90 days as a Documentation Manager
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We asked on Social Media Someone joins as/becomes a manager of technical writing team.What would you advise they do in their first 90-100 days? In this episode, we go through the responses we received. We'll post a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf The five pillars of content strategy: https://www.scroll.co.uk/wp-conte…
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128. Optimising Technical Documentation for Search
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We look at optimising technical documentation for Search Engines. We'll post a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf Links: Podcast 62 Looking back on the presentations at The Evolution of TC 2019 conference 99 Percent Invisible: Search and ye might findBy Cherryleaf
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We look at playbooks. We ask: what are they, and why create them? We also discuss our approach for creating playbooks, and the different ways to publish them. We'll post a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf Links: https://trainual.com/manual/what-is-a-business-playbook-and-how-to-use-it-to-scale https://sterlingwoods.co…
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126. Retrospectives for documentation projects
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We look at the value of retrospectives at the end of a documentation project, and how you can run one. We'll post a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: CherryleafBy Cherryleaf
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We look at the types of skills we, and others, are looking for, when taking on freelance and permanent technical communicators. We'll post a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: CherryleafBy Cherryleaf
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We asked: Does anyone have any techcomm timesaver tips they'd like to share? This is what you told us... We'll post a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: CherryleafBy Cherryleaf
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We look at different ways to measure and check the quality of the content we produce. References: Developing Quality Technical Information (DQTI), Hargis, IBM, 1997 Peter Morville’s User Experience Honeycomb Ilene Burnstein, Practical Software Testing Teste e Qualidade de Software Software Reviews and Other Static Software Analysis. Rodrigo Back Al…
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We look at GitHub and how technical communicators are using GitHub for creating documentation. Our new training bundles: Cherryleaf Technical Communication Courses Video: Creative writing with GitHub copilot Hands on - AI pair programming with GitHub CopilotBy Cherryleaf
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121. What are the skills needed for developing a developer portal?
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In this episode, we look at the skills needed for developing a developer portal. We also talk about our new e-learning course "Creating API documentation and developer portals", and Google's recommendations for the content needed on a developer portal. We'll post a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog. About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf…
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Happy New Year. We posted this question on social media: What lessons have you learnt over the last 12 months? Working from home, wins, losses, mindset, managing the pandemic etc. In this episode, we go through the responses, and reflect on what was said. About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf Pexels image: Julia M Cameron…
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119. Trends in technical communication for 2022 and beyond
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It's that time of year for us to gaze into our crystal ball and share your and our predictions for the future of technical communication for 2022 and beyond. Thread on LinkedIn Thread on Twitter About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf Image: Tuesday Temptation on Unsplash.By Cherryleaf
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Cherryleaf's Ginny Critcher and Ellis Pratt discuss using the Redocly platform to create a developer portal and API documentation. More information: Redocly What is your developer portal’s KPI score? CherryleafBy Cherryleaf
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117. How to create an award-winning developer portal
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With the Dev Portal Awards 2021 under way, we look at the characteristics of an award-winning developer portal. Dev Portal Awards 2021 What is your developer portal’s KPI score? About Cherryleaf: CherryleafBy Cherryleaf
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116. What should startups consider when writing their first docs?
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If a startup came to you asking for a checklist of actions they should take/consider when it comes to writing their first docs, what would you tell them? We asked that question on Social Media. In this episode, we reveal what people said. Get the ultimate user onboarding content checklist for start-ups About Cherryleaf: Cherryleaf…
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115. Creating Learning and Development content with Flare (interview)
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Unexpected bonus August episode. We spoke to Jennifer Morse, Vice President of Customer Success at MadCap Software, about the new Learning and Development features that have been included in latest release of MadCap Flare. More information: New Release: MadCap Flare 2021 r2 Bridging the Gap Between Technical Authoring and Learning & Development Web…
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114. Nine common onboarding mistakes that software companies make
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Ellis looks at nine common onboarding mistakes that software companies make: Not thinking about jobs to be done, but features Overloading users with information Writing for a single audience Not providing or not co-ordinating the five pillars of onboarding content Getting the timing wrong Unclear goals Leaving "seams" in the onboarding experience P…
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113. Using heatmaps & recordings to improve Hotjar's knowledge base, with Karissa Van Baule
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We talk to Karissa Van Baulen, Customer Education Lead and Knowledge Base Owner at Hotjar. We discuss how she has used heatmaps and playback recordings to improve Hotjar's knowledge base. What does Hotjar do? Why are heatmaps important? How have you used heatmaps and recordings to improve Hotjar's knowledge base? How easy is this to do? How much ti…
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112. Nobody ever wants to buy software, with Toby Chapman-Dawe
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Ellis talks to Toby Chapman Dawe of Strand UK about why he claims nobody ever wants to buy software. Toby is Managing Director of Strand. Toby specialises in communicating the business benefits of enterprise technology. Formerly a journalist in the UK writing for trade and national press, Toby transferred to the world of advertising in the Netherla…
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111. Building a developer portal using Flare - A new way to do it
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For a while now, we’ve been looking at ways to import API reference content into MadCap Flare, so that we can use Flare to create a developer portal. Here’s the latest update on what we’ve learnt. Videos: Importing OpenAPI/Swagger API reference content into MadCap Flare 2021 to create a developer portal Importing API reference documentation into a …
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110. After basic techcomm training, what next?
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In addition to the basic skills in technical communication, what other skills does a technical communicator need? In this episode, we look at the areas where technical communicators deepen and widen their skill set. We consider what should be the topic for our (Cherryleaf's) next elearning course. Twitter thread: Does anyone have opinions as to wha…
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In March 2021, Google published the “Google UX Design Certificate Program", as part of its Grow with Google scheme. In this episode, we look at: What is promised How it's delivered What's in the course Career prospects Related information: https://grow.google/uxdesign/https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-ux-design Intermediate/…
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108. What you said you wanted from a course on creating screenshots and images
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Recently, we asked on Social Media: What do you want from a course on creating screenshots and other graphics? What topics would like a course like this to cover? In this episode we'll cover the responses we got, and why we asked those questions. Related information: Intermediate/Advanced Technical Communication elearning training course Cherryleaf…
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107. Why communication skills are not enough
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We talk about an episode from the Smart Passive Income Podcast (Smart Passive Income Podcast 471 How to Become a Better Communicator with Kolarele Sonaike) and discuss why technical communicators' communication skills may not be enough for them to progress up an organisation's hierarchy. More information: Cherryleaf newsletter To contact Cherryleaf…
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106. The mysterious Reuse Files button in Microsoft Word
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In December 2020, a "Reuse Files" button mysteriously appeared in the browser version of Microsoft Word. There doesn't appear to be any documentation about it on the Microsoft website. What does it do? In this episode, we do some investigating to find out. More information: Cherryleaf newsletter To contact Cherryleaf: info@cherryleaf.com…
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105. What are the most common problems organisations make with developer portals and API documentation?
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On social media, we asked "what are the most common problems organisations make with developer portals and API documentation?" In this episode, we look at the responses we received. We also discuss some of the other common mistakes that we've come across. More information: Cherryleaf's API/developer documentation writing services Cherryleaf newslet…
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We look at some of the common content challenges organisations face with their developer portals, and ways to fix them. We also look at creating a friction log, and the complexity of banking related APIs. More information: Cherryleaf's API/developer documentation writing services Cherryleaf newsletter To contact Cherryleaf: info@cherryleaf.com…
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103. Training during the Lockdown - Lessons learnt
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We discuss the lessons we've learnt so far from training in a virtual classroom environment during the Lockdown. More information: Cherryleaf's training courses Cherryleaf newsletter To contact Cherryleaf: info@cherryleaf.comBy Cherryleaf
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102. Bridgerton, Brexit, and Cherryleaf: The Untold Story
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Ellis donned his finest brocade waistcoat and riding boots for an episode that was recorded in one of the locations used in the Bridgerton TV series. He discusses the location, and the impact of Brexit on technical writing companies such as Cherryleaf. Image by Maxwell Hamilton, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52540109…
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We spoke to Deborah Reid, Lead Tester at Bloom & Wild, about usability testing. We discuss: What is testing? Is it only about accessibility? Where is it used? Why should organisations worry about testing/do testing? Does it need a specialist to do it?/ What skills are needed? How did you become a tester/what attracted you to it? How is it done? Bro…
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